The Ultimate EDC Pen

Introduction: The Ultimate EDC Pen

In this instructable I will show you how to combine parts from three pens to make the most reliable pen that can be had without hurting your wallet.

Step 1: About This Pen

This pen is made of thick plastic, with a hard steel shell that gives it durability, and a sleek look. We start out with the zebra F-701, this pen is great because the outside shell is 99% steel, except for the plastic ring at the top that houses the click mechanism. To Make this pen better, we have to get rid of that plastic. This is where the zebra F-402 comes in, because the exact peice that is made of plastic on the F-701, just happens to be made out of metal on the F-402. as I turns out, I learned is that this peice can be switched out, but usually resulting in the sacrifice of the F-402 pen. Today this changes, I will show you how to swap this peice, and keep both pens.Also, to make this pen's awesomeness level go up by unquantifiable factors, and have the ability to write any where, I add a Fisher space pen refill.

Step 2: Pens, and Tools.

As always, I add a list of necessary components to complete this project so you won't have to search through my 'ible to figure it out yourself.... Because I'm nice like that.Feel free to skip this and come back later.#1) Zebra F-701 retractable pen#2) Zebra F-402(always in a two pack)#3) Fisher space pen refill#4) flexible rubber jar opener#5) bench vise#6) soft block of wood#7) hammer, or mallet#8) multitool (just in case)#9) paper clip

Step 3: Disassembly of the F-402

Start by removing the tip, the rubber grip, and the ink. At this point you will notice the steel tube simply protects the plastic insides, and to get the metal peice we want off we just need to remove the steel tube from the plastic tube.Take the rubber jar opener, and wrap it around the metal tube (not touching the clip) and clamp it in the vice with the side where the tip was, pointing up. The object here is to hammer the plastic out of the tube without breaking the plastic. Use the block of wood to protect the plastic, by hitting the hammer gently on the wood while it rests on the plastic. In the picture you see the F-701 pen in the vise because I forgot to take pictures of the F-402 as I was doing it, so ignore for now that the wrong pen is shown in the picture.

Step 4: Disassembly of the F-701

This pen is easy.Start by removing the tip and taking out the spring and ink cartridge.Partly screw the tip back on. Wrap the jar opener around the body of the pen(not the knurled grip, or the clip), and clamp it in the vise with the tip pointing up. Then hammer the tip gently, protecting it with a block of wood. This should cause the back to pop out as the tip gets hammered in.once that happens unscrew the tip and pull the plastic tube all the way out if the metal frame.

Step 5: Like Parent Trap....

At this point you should now realise that the plastic inside the steel tube is the same as the plastic inside the other pen( the only difference being the pen clips and the metal part we want). Remember, we want that metal peice for our all metal pen, so right now if you want you can just proceed to the next step. But if you are like me, and really like the clip on the zebra F-107, then we have to unscrew the part metal part(and the plastic one with the clip we want) off the tube so we can swap them. The plastic one screws off easy, whereas the metal one needs some encouragement, so let's try using that handy jar opener to remove it. Don't lose that spring inside!Phew... Ok that was hard.... now swap those clips and keep moving.

Note: The reason I don't just try and uncrew these in the first place is because it would take a guy built like the hulk to do it. it has a cap, screwed tightly into a plastic tube, with a steel tube tightly compressed over that.... Not exactly an easy thing to unscrew considering I had to use a hammer to get the steel off...

Step 6:

Now that we have successfully swapped the clips, we now slide the F-701's steel body over the F-402's plastic body. We are almost done.The Fisher ink tube has to slide out of the tip, but has a little resistance to it when that is done, so use a paperclip to remove a small rubber tube from the tip, and stretch it over the original ink tube as shown in the picture, then place it back into the tip of the pen.Now, finnally, reassemble the pen like normal with the Fisher ink tube instead of the zebra ink.

Step 7: Both Pens

The reassembly of the zebra F-402 should be obvious by now and shouldn't take you long to do. The only peice that is different is that plastic peice, which now can be appropriately matched with the rubber grip.

Step 8: Conclusion

This pen should feel right at home in your pocket, as it's all steel shell gives it the durability it needs while also impressing anyone who uses it. The plastic inside may seem like a bad idea, but considering this: it held up the the tapping of the hammer, and it didn't snap when I was applying lots of torq to unscrew the metal cap. This goes to show, that this pen is tough, encased in more tough.

The zebra F-701 is smaller than most pens, comparing it to a uniball signo micro 207, and the average black sharpie. Making this pen, a full sized pen, that won't hurt your pocket space.

Thank you for reading my 'ible, and if you liked this one, go check out my others!